230 pages, indexed, illustrated with black and white plates. There is an ownership signature on the front end paper and the pages are lightly tanned, elase clean, unmarked and solid. "In 1918, 12,000 Australian Light Horsemen advanced across the Middle East, covering nearly 450 miles of treacherous desert and mountains. After twelve days the Great Ride climaxed in the taking of the fabled city of Damascus. The Ride was praised by the Allies' Chief of Staff as 'the greatest exploit in the history of horsed cavalry...' In this work, Hamilton also tells of how Damascus was defended by the same Turkish general who had blocked the Australians at Gallipoli in 1915, and how for many of the troops, the taking of Damascus was a 'getting even' for that defeat. She describes the courage, endurance and mateship that made the desert crossing possible, and pays homage to the deep and important bond between horse and rider that enabled so many men and animals to survive."